Prisoner of Love
by Michael J.J
Summary: Todd loses a bet, now he has to be Maurecia's boyfriend for a week! Will it drive him crazy, or will it change his life?
1. The Bet

A/N: Seeing as this category doesn't have much, I've decided to contribute a Todd/Maurecia fic to alliveate that. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: Wayside copyright Louis Sachar, Nickelodeon, and Teletoon. I don't own it.

Love is like a game of chess. One wrong move and you're mated.-Unknown

* * *

Todd gave one last exhausted breath as he finally made it to the thirtieth floor of Wayside. He had yet to discover the reason why Kidswatter had yet to install a decent elevator, one that didn't only work when the stairs were out of order. Then again, he still didn't understand how stairs could be out of order, much less how it could be in such a way that you could go down them, but not up. He had given up trying to get Wayside's logic months ago.

He had also given up trying to figure out why Maurecia had to pick him above every other student in the school to have an obsessive crush on. That question slapped him in the face once more as he neared the doorway to Mrs. Jewels's classroom to discover that someone (i.e.: Maurecia) had plastered a rather large and heavily decorated poster on the entryway to the classroom. It was large, decorated with glitter, and contained the phrase 'Todd Loves Maurecia (heart).'

Todd clenched his fists in anger. He ripped the sign off the wall and pushed on the doorway, which was hinged at the top. Immediately as he entered his classmates pointed and snickered, giving him the impression that they had all seen the glaring message. And, in the furthest right row, second seat, was a purple haired girl looking too happy to escape suspicion.

"I assume you're responsible for this," he said, holding the source of his problems in front of her face.

"Why, Todd, how could you suggest such a thing?" she asked, trying to play innocent.

"Let me see your backpack," he demanded. Puzzled by the request, the girl handed him the requested item. He quickly unzipped the front pocket and buried his hand inside. He pulled out…

"A half full can of glitter, the same kind that was used for the poster," he declared, putting the evidence on her desk.

"Oh, that doesn't mean anything."

"Markers that are the same colors as the words on the poster."

"I…like to color?"

"A list of alternate slogans for the poster."

Maurecia didn't have an excuse for this one.

"Notarized photos of you making the poster."

"…Why did I take those?" she asked herself out loud.

Todd lowered his head in frustration. "Maurecia…what is it going to take to get you off my back? I've said before, I'd rather do anything than be your boyfriend!"

"Would you eat more of Miss Mush's Mushroom Surprise?" Myron stepped in. It was apparent that the entire classroom was enjoying this conversation.

"No, because that would cause me to fall in love with someone, and it could end up being Maurecia, which wouldn't be much better. What's Miss Mush's second most disgusting food?"

"Uh…that would be It," Dana informed.

"…What's It?"

"It is the most disgusting creation ever concocted…next to Mushroom Surprise, of course."

"Alright then," the carrot-topped boy declared as he turned back to the source of his frustration, "I'd rather eat an entire plate of that than be your boyfriend!"

This got collected gasps and whispers from the other fourteen students and Mrs. Jewels, and a scowl from Maurecia. "Oh yeah?" she yelled, standing up and pounding her palms on her desk. "Well, I bet you wouldn't."

"I bet I would!"

"Oh yeah? Well, let's make a bet. If you can't eat a whole plate, you have to be my boyfriend for a whole week!"

"And if I can eat it all, you have to leave me alone for a week!"

"Fine!" Maurecia said, suddenly staring down at the boy.

"Fine!" Todd retorted, now the higher one.

"Right now?" the girl asked, once again higher.

"Let's go," he declared, now the higher one.

Both kids jumped off the desk they had gotten on top of to stare down at each other and made a dash for the cafeteria. The rest of the class and Mrs. Jewels, who had remained quite in hopes that something like this would happened, followed.

* * *

For the second time that semester, Miss Mush found Mrs. Jewels's class standing outside her cafeteria.

"Miss Mush, Todd would like some of It."

That got the cook's attention. "Really? Not even Sammy will eat that. Will you, you stuck-up rat?" she said, giving a sideways glance at the petrified rat on one of the counters. Of course, Sammy said nothing.

Mush placed a welding mask on her face before pulling a pot out of one of the cabinets. She unscrewed the lid on the heavily armored pot, and then pulled it off, unleashing a large amount of steam that had everyone coughing.

Todd was sure that the substance Mush pulled out wasn't technically food. It was a wiggling, steaming pile of orange goop that appeared to have hair growing out of it. The cafeteria lady slapped a pile of It onto a plate, stuck a spoon in It, and presented It before the boy.

The carrot-topped boy gulped. "This was a bad idea."

"Really?" Maurecia said hopefully. "Does that mean you won't eat it and be my boyfriend?" she asked, as her eyes became hearts.

In response, Todd grabbed a spoonful of the strange substance and, after some hesitation, shoved it in his mouth.

Instantly he regretted this. The substance was so amazingly disgusting that he felt like he would vomit right then and there. Somehow, he managed to muscle his way past his gag reflex and swallow the so-called food, which continued wiggling all the way down.

The class laughed as Todd turned a peculiar shade of green. Maurecia donned a sly smile at the sight. "Aw, what's wrong, Todd? Don't think you can finish it all?"

"N-no, I'll be fine," he declared stubbornly as he scooped up another spoonful. As he brought it to his lips, he began to wonder if this truly was the lesser of two evils.

* * *

Todd moaned in his seat. By now his face was a completely green and he felt that the entire contents of his stomach would be ejected out of his mouth.

"Come on, Todd, only one more bite to go," Dana said encouragingly.

Maurecia was now nervous. Only one more bite and she couldn't even talk to Todd for a full week. Maybe it was her that had made the mistake.

Todd weakly scooped up the last bite.

The entire class looked on in anticipation.

Todd moved the food toward his mouth.

Maurecia gulped.

The remaining bite moved past Todd's lips.

Then, suddenly, the carrot-topped boy dropped the spoon. He clutched his stomach and clapped his other hand over his mouth. So quickly that no one saw him move, he jumped from his seat, ran over to the sink, and upchucked all the food he had eaten in the last twenty-four hours.

When he finished, he slumped down to the ground, still feeling sick. Everyone crowded around him.

"Goodness, Todd, are you okay?" Mrs. Jewels asked.

"Uh…stomach…on…fire…" he managed to choke out.

"He should be fine," Dana assured. "That probably got all of the It out of his stomach."

"Yeah," Todd began. "I'll be…all…right," he trailed off when he noticed an alarming fact. Maurecia was grinning ear-to-ear. "Maurecia…what are you…"

"You didn't finish it," she said simply.

The boy looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't finish the whole plate," she clarified.

Todd mulled over this fact for a split second before his eyes widened in horror.

"She's right, Todd," Dana quipped, "you left your seat before you ate the last bite, and the bet was you eat the whole plate."

"No…" Todd whispered.

"Todd, it's important to always keep your bargain," Mrs. Jewels said sagely.

"Oh no…" Todd moaned.

"You lost the bet," Maurecia said in singsong. "You have to be my boyfriend for a whole week!"

At the last word, the purple-haired girl gave him a playful punch in the arm. Of course, the punch sent him flying across the room and into the nearby cabinet.

As he got up, Todd moaned. It was going to be a long week.


	2. Monday

A/N: I'm glad everyone likes the concept. Here's chapter two.

Disclaimer: Wayside copyright Louis Sachar, Nelvana, Nickelodeon, and Viacom. I don't own it.

"My friends, there is no great love without great jealousy."-Bender, Futurama

* * *

Todd sighed as he saw the extra-tall school through the school bus window as it pulled to a stop. Normally he treasured the time spent at school, but today he dreaded it. Today was the day his part of the bet began.

Indeed, as he stepped off the bus he saw Maurecia standing in front of the school with a big grin on her face. "Hey, Todd," she said in a faux coy way while she skated over to her crush. Without a word, she extended her arm, her palm opened and waiting.

Todd cocked an eyebrow at the gesture, but the girl quickly cleared things up. "Aren't you going to hold my hand, boyfriend?" she said, adding some emphasis on the last word.

The carrot top rolled his eyes, but obeyed the request and placed his hand in hers. Instantly the purple haired girl gained hearts in her eyes as she practically floated into the air. Her unwilling companion rolled his eyes, hoping she wouldn't be acting like this all day.

A sharp pain in his hand pulled him out of his thoughts and caused him to take his hand back, shaking the pain away. Both kids then noticed a very jealous porcupine clinging to Maurecia's arm and holding one of his quills like a knife.

"Fluffy!" Maurecia said, grabbing her pet and holding him in front of her face. "You don't hurt Todd! Understand?"

The prickly animal grunted indignity but gave a curt nod. Still feeling angry, Maurecia placed him in her backpack. She then turned back toward Todd, still nursing his small injury.

Just as the pain from Fluffy's attack subsided, Maurecia grabbed his hand once more and squeezing so hard that it caused further discomfort. "Come on, class is about to start!" she said, practically dragging the poor boy into the building.

* * *

As unpleasant as it was to walk up thirty flights of stairs every day, Todd learned that the experience was much worse when a very enthusiastic friend is dragging you up. Maurecia failed to let go of his hand until they were at the top, by which time it felt like it was going to fall out of its socket.

"Finally, we're here," Todd said, relieved. "I'm going to get to my seat," he said quickly, rushing to his desk before she could object. At least during class he'd be safe from his week-long commitment.

Or so he thought. But almost immediately after he sat down, he felt his desk being moved. Immediately he looked behind him to make sure the walls weren't closing in on him again. Realizing they weren't, he looked to his side and saw the other female member of his group of friends pushing his desk.

"Dana, why are you moving my desk…oh no!" he moaned as remembrance flashed across his features.

"That's right Todd, you're being moved by the power of love," the bespectacled girl exclaimed, sounding giddy.

"No, it's the power of lost bets," the boy moaned, realizing this was a repeat of the disastrous Valentine's Day incident. Indeed, as soon as his desk hit the opposite wall, Maurecia's slammed into it, with the athletic girl giving a flirtatious smile.

"You didn't think we'd be sitting so far apart while we're dating, did you?" she said coyly, giving her unwilling boyfriend a punch on the arms. Unfortunately, this was the same one she had been previously tugging on, meaning the muscles were still sore.

"Ow!" he yelled louder than usual as he rubbed his arm. As he did this Dana pulled out a handsaw and, with unbelievable speed, cut about a third of each desk before pushing them together, bringing the two kids even closer.

"Whoa, too close! Too close!" the boy said, waving his hands around as Dana nailed the desks together.

"You can never be too close to the one you love," Maurecia said dreamily, leaning toward the boy.

Todd responded by placing a palm on her forehead, stopping her from leaning any closer. "Remember the last time we were like this? Your ponytail kept hitting me in the face!"

The tomboy thought about that. "You're right," she said, not wanting a repeat of Dana's ill-fated attempts to make them fall in love. She carefully removed her helmet, then pulled the red ribbon out of her hair, letting it fall freely. She turned her head a few times, enjoying the feeling of her hair flowing unrestrained.

Todd was stunned. He had only seen Maurecia with her hair down once, but in that time he had been under the influence of Miss Mush's Mushroom Surprise. In that state he was too infatuated with Mrs. Jewels to give anything else a second thought. But now he definitely noticed.

Maurecia caught him looking at her. "What's up?"

Realizing he was staring, he blushed and turned away. "N-nothing," he said quickly.

"No really, what is it?" she pressed.

"It's just…you look good with your hair down," he said.

Maurecia paused. When what her crush had said sunk in, she smiled ear to ear, with hearts once again appearing in her eyes. "Oh, Todd," she said. Then he punched him in the arm again, effectively bringing him out of his fluster.

"That, on the other hand, needs work," he muttered.

"Alright, class," Mrs. Jewels called, "let's get started." With that, she began her history lesson, if you could call learning that Santa Claus fought the Martians in nineteen sixty-four a history lesson.

It wasn't a minute into the lesson before Maurecia snaked her arm onto the desk and grabbed Todd's, squeezing it firmly but lovingly. The carrot top was obviously annoyed at this but gave a weak smile before turning back to the board. For a while, things were quiet, but that soon ended.

"Ow!" Todd suddenly cried, pulling his hand away and shaking it.

"Todd," Mrs. Jewels turned around, about to scold the boy for misconduct, "please don't interrupt…oh my goodness!"

The reason for the teacher's surprise was that Todd's hand contained what appeared to be a porcupine quill lodged into it. The entire class gasped at his injury, including Maurecia, who reached between their seats and pulled up the source of her crush's discomfort.

"Fluffy, what are you doing?" she yelled, shocked by her beloved pet's behavior. The porcupine, however, was looking too happy with the results of his actions to care.

"Todd, go to the nurse to get your hand bandaged, and Maurecia, please keep Fluffy under control," Mrs. Jewels scolded, writing the girl's name on the blackboard under discipline.

Maurecia glared at the small animal in her hand, but Fluffy was smiling. He had an idea.

* * *

Todd was back in the classroom twenty minutes later, really regretting the bet. It was shaping up to be a painful week. Sighing, he made his way to the double desk he was sharing with his pseudo girlfriend. Smiling, Maurecia patted the seat, inviting him to sit down. Too weary to really respond, he sat. However, he immediately jumped up, giving another cry of pain.

"Fluffy!" Maurecia cried as she pulled up said porcupine that had jumped in the seat just moments before Todd sat.

"Maurecia, please keep your pet from disrupting class," the teacher scolded, adding a check beside her name on the discipline list. "Are you alright, Todd?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, sitting down carefully.

Meanwhile, Maurecia dropped Fluffy into her backpack and zipped it up. "You can come out when you're ready to behave," she scolded.

Soon the lecture was back in full swing, and the purple-haired girl's attention was back on Todd, allowing the porcupine to climb out of his prison quite easily. Realizing he couldn't climb onto the desk without his human seeing him, he decided on a simpler course of action. Plucking a quill from his back, he drove it as hard as he could into his rival's leg.

"Ow!" he cried, falling out of his seat. Instantly Fluffy felt himself being lifted to eye level by, of course, Maurecia, who was giving a punishing glare.

"That's it, Maurecia," Mrs. Jewels said firmly, "if you can't keep Fluffy under control, I'm afraid I have no choice but to send you home early on the kindergarten bus." With that, she circled the girl's name.

"What?" the girl cried. That meant she'd lose time with Todd! She glared at her pet, having never been this angry with him before. Fluffy, however, was glad he got her away from his hated enemy.

No one saw, but Todd was smiling as well. Today just got better.

* * *

Maurecia skated into her bedroom and unceremoniously dropped Fluffy onto her bed, glaring at him disapprovingly. "Why'd you do that, Fluffy? I finally had Todd all to myself and you had to get me in trouble!"

Fluffy merely snorted and turned away, a look of disdain on his face.

The purple haired girl sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Look, even though I love Todd, he's not going to make me love you any less. Can't you learn to like him?"

The porcupine's answer was a curt shake of his head. This only served to heighten the girl's anger, as she immediately stood up. "Fine, then from now on I'm not taking you to Wayside."

Fluffy looked at the girl, his eyes wide with shock at the prospect. He began to scuttle toward the girl, but she blocked him with one palm. "You need to quit being selfish. I'm really happy around Todd, and if you really loved me you'd learn to share. Until then, you can just stay in this room."

With that, Maurecia skated out, leaving a saddened porcupine to think about the girl's words.

A/N: I promise there will be more fluff in the next chapter.


	3. Tuesday, Part I

A/N: Sorry about the delay. Here's chapter three.

Disclaimer: Wayside copyright Louis Sachar, Nelvana, Nickelodeon, and Viacom. I don't own it.

Courtship is the past tense of caught-Unknown

* * *

Todd walked off the Wayside bus the following morning, whistling a happy tune. His mood was only slightly diminished when he noticed Maurecia wave to him with a smitten look on her face. Giving a somewhat resigned look, he walked over to his temporary girlfriend.

"Hey, Todd," she swooned before giving him the mandatory punch to the arm.

The carrot top responded by rubbing his arm, but still gleefully but sarcastically responding, "Hello, Maurecia."

"You sound happy, Todd," she noted. Then, a hopeful look crossed her features. "Are you finally starting to enjoy being my boyfriend?"

"No," he replied, with a bit of a smug tone. "I'm smiling because after yesterday I realize something. Thanks to Fluffy's jealousy, either you or me will be sent home early every day this week."

Now it was Maurecia's turn to smile. "Sorry, but that won't work. I've left Fluffy at home, he can't bother us anymore."

Rather than be disappointed, Todd just shrugged. "Whatever. Mrs. Jewels still sends me home every day that it's relevant to what's going on. I'll be out of here by noon."

"Then I'll just have to make the best of the time we have," the roller blading girl answered, completely unfazed by her temporary boyfriend's logic. She simply grabbed his arm and began a repeat of the previous day's climb to the thirtieth floor.

* * *

Todd was starting to doubt his arm would survive the week, even if each day ended at noon. The constant pulling, punching, and pricking from the previous day had already made his arm sore, now it felt numb, and he was sure it was going to fall off. He had to get one of them sent home.

Finally getting his arm free from Maurecia's vice grip, he began racking his brain for a solution. Fortunately, at that point he noticed some art supplies waiting outside Mrs. Jewels' room, obviously delivered by Louis earlier that day.

"Hey Maurecia," he said, "go on in without me. I just…have to use the bathroom."

"Sure thing, Todd," she said obliviously, skating into the classroom. When she was gone, her crush gave an evil grin, rubbing his hands together. He walked over to the art supplies and quickly pulled out a series of tools: a crayon, a pen, a marker, and paint.

"Now, let's paint a masterpiece," he grinned, and began scribbling on the wall with everything he had.

After a good five minutes, Mrs. Jewels finally came up the stairs. Instantly she dropped her lesson plan and gazed shocked at Todd's vandalism.

The walls were decked with scribbles and crude drawings made with nearly every medium imaginable. And in front of it was the boy she had realized as being a rule breaker.

"Todd, did you do this?" she demanded.

"Yep," he answered proudly, folding his arms in front of his chest and nodding. "What do you say to that?"

"It's…wonderful!" she exclaimed, putting on an excited grin and brightening her expression.

Instantly the boy's pupils shrunk to the size of pencil points, his arms dropped to his sides, and his mouth went agape. "Say wha?"

"You've taken out boring walls and made them colorful and artistic! It's so lovely!" she gushed, admiring the marks on the wall. "And you did it all without being asked!"

"But…but…" Todd stammered, not knowing what to say. To complicate things, Maurecia wheeled out of the classroom at that point. "Hey Todd, what's taking so long…oh my gosh!" she gasped covering her mouth. "Todd, did you do this?"

"You bet he did, Maurecia," Mrs. Jewels said.

Maurecia blinked. Then, she squealed, skating over and pulling Todd into a bone crushing hug. "Oh, Todd! You painted a whole mural just for me! I love you more than ever now!"

Even if Todd's brain had been working well enough to respond, he wouldn't have, because his temporary girlfriend was making it hard to breathe.

"Why Todd, that makes it even more wonderful!" Mrs. Jewels exclaimed, her happiness growing. "As your reward, I won't send you home early for the rest of the week!"

Any progress Todd had made at unfreezing his brain disappeared with that statement. "What? But…how…why?" he tried to form a sentence, his voice trembling.

"Oh, Todd," the purple haired girl gushed, finally releasing her unwilling boyfriend. Then, she gave him an affectionate punch, sending him into the lockers across the hall.

He didn't feel any pain, but it did seem to get his brain working again, as he managed to stand up and dust himself off. Instantly, Maurecia grabbed him again, pulling him into the classroom, while he tried to figure out how his gambit backfired so spectacularly.

* * *

Todd had been stumped by the lack of logic that Wayside possessed before, but now it was reaching a new height. As he sat next to Maurecia in their modified double desk he scratched his head, wondering how to undo his problem. Why is it every time he wanted to avoid getting in trouble it honed in on him, but whenever he wanted to go home it was nowhere to be found.

Then it came to him. The last time they were seated like this, he got sent home for accidentally pulling Maurecia's ponytail. He looked at the girl that was holding him hostage. She had once again let her hair down, allowing it to flow freely. For a moment, he gazed at the girl, somewhat enraptured by her new look. After snapping out of it, he gave a grin. All he had to do was give her hair a few tugs and he'd be sent home. He reached for the purple locks.

He paused. Why was he hesitating? It was his ticket home. All he had to do was pull her hair.

He knew the answer. He sighed as he lowered his arm. He didn't have it in him to intentionally hurt anyone, even Maurecia.

_Especially Maurecia…_

He mentally kicked himself. Where did that come from? Maurecia was his friend, but only a friend, no matter how much she wanted it different. He was no different than Dana, or Myron, or Jenny or Stephen…right?

"Hey, Todd?" the tomboy next to him asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What're you thinking about?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he lied, hoping she wouldn't see the blush on his cheeks. The last thing he wanted to admit under the current situation was that he had been thinking about her.

Unfortunately, she seemed to guess that it had something to do with her, because she took the boy's hand in her own with aggressive force, squeezing it tight. "Oh Todd, just wait till lunchtime, I asked Miss Mush to fix us a romantic meal."

Now in addition to feeling his hand being crushed, Todd felt his stomach turn. He couldn't imagine anything by Miss Mush not having some terrible consequence.

* * *

The school day passed even slower than usual. Being stuck in Maurecia's grip all day had turned Todd's hand a peculiar shade of purple, and the boy was hoping that blood flow would return to normal soon. Still, a more immediate concern was the fact that his faux girlfriend was pulling his arm once again, this time down to the fifteenth floor for the cafeteria.

"Come on, Todd, we have to hurry," she yelled, practically dragging the boy down the stairs. Much to Todd's relief, they reached the cafeteria soon after, though barely had a chance to comprehend this before she pulled him through the door.

Since Maurecia had been in a hurry to get to the cafeteria, there was hardly anyone there. In fact, there was no line. Then again, considering how legendary Miss Mush's cooking was, this wasn't surprising.

"Well, we might as well get our food," Todd sighed. "Where's this romantic meal you mentioned?"

"It's in the kitchen," Maurecia explained as she pulled her captive into said area. "I asked Miss Mush to let us have a private table."

The carrot top rolled his eyes, but decide not to fight what she wanted. When he entered the kitchen, he saw that a simple table had been set up. A two person table with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth, nothing more. However, it had been decorated with lit candelabra, which caused Todd to roll his eyes at how cliché it was. The meal set before them, however, was definitely pleasing.

"Pizza? All right, Maurecia!" he said, now eager to get to the table and actually get a decent meal from the Wayside café.

"Yeah, I had Miss Mush order it for us," she explained, gesturing toward the steaming pepperoni pie on the table. Without another word the two kids sat down, each grabbing a slice and devouring it.

As they reached for their second slices, Maurecia spoke. "Oh Todd, isn't this romantic?" she said, fluttering her eyes.

After a pause, Todd set down his slice, sighing. "Maurecia, I've got to know, why do you like me so much? Is it just because you think I'm cute?"

At this, the skating girl blushed a little. "Well, it started that way," she admitted, looking away shyly, "but now, you…you're always trying to help people and make things better. No matter what, your goal is to make people happy." She looked back at him. "Remember when Kidswatter took over our student TV station and you used it to sell your inventions? He was making all the money, buy you never cared if you saw a dime. All you cared about is that you were helping people. I thought that was…really great of you."

Todd blinked. He definitely hadn't been expecting that answer. "Oh. Wow…"

"So, why do you not like me?" Maurecia asked, looking at him intently. "I mean, why won't you be my permanent boyfriend?"

He sighed. "Well, it's not so much you…well, the punching is a definite turn-off, but that's not the main reason. You see…well, I don't like to talk about it, but I had some…bad experiences at my old school. That incident with the kindergartners was just the final straw that got me to transfer."

For once, Maurecia was speechless. "What? What happened?"

"I'd…really rather not talk about it," the carrot top answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

His ersatz girlfriend, never one to back down easy, tried pressing the matter. "But Todd…"

"Maurecia please," he said more forcefully than usual, holding up his hand. "Can we not talk about this? Please?"

The girl stopped. Whatever her crush was hiding was clearly troubling him. After a moment, she decided to grant his wishes. "Alright…but, if you ever want to talk about it…I'd be willing to listen."

Then, she did something she rarely did. She touched Todd gently, by putting her hand on his shoulder, adding to it a warm smile.

Todd returned it, fully enjoying a rare moment of peace around Maurecia.

Unfortunately he didn't see her arm pull back until it was too late. In an instant he was across the room, crashing into the counters with a throbbing pain in his arm.

Todd rubbed his arm. Suddenly everything was back to normal.

This week wasn't getting any easier.


	4. Tuesday, Part II

A/N: Next chapter, blah blah.

Disclaimer: Wayside copyright Louis Sacher, Teletoon, and Nickelodeon

Where there is love, there is life.-Mahatma Gandhi

* * *

"I don't know about this, Maurecia," Todd said as his captor pulled him toward the center of Wayside's abnormally large playground.

"Come on, Todd, it's loads of fun," the purple haired girl claimed as she finally stopped yanking on her crush's arm, allowing him a temporary relief. It was short-lived, however, as immediately afterward he had a pair of roller blades shoved into his arms. "Hurry on, put them on."

The carrot-top sighed as he obeyed her request. A few minutes earlier he had finished up his pizza lunch with his ersatz girlfriend. While he would never admit it, he actually enjoyed spending some alone time with her. When she wasn't punching him in the arm, she was actually quite pleasant.

However, after lunch came recess, and Maurecia only had one thing she wanted to do for the next half-hour. Namely, she wanted Todd to try her favorite past time of rollerblading.

Todd sighed as he finished lacing up the skates. Immediately Maurecia pulled him up. "Come on, Todd, let's skate," she said, releasing him. Immediately he lost his balance, trying for a few seconds to regain his footing. In the end, however, the wheels went out from under him, causing him to land on his bottom.

Groaning, he looked up at his de facto girlfriend. "Isn't there anything we're going to do this week that doesn't involve me getting hurt?"

"Oh, Todd, you just need to get your balance," the girl assured, pulling him up again. Though he wobbled, the girl kept a tight hold on him.

"Now, you just push forward. And don't worry about falling, you can lean on me." She said the last line with a bit of a flirtatious undertone, causing Todd to roll his eyes.

Without much more warning Maurecia took off, pulling her reluctant boyfriend forward. He nearly fell, but managed to clumsily catch himself, eventually pulling himself up in a steady position. For a few moments the two skated along, with Todd trying to stay upright. Finally, his partner let go, allowing him to skate on his own.

This worked for a few moments, but all too soon Todd fell forward, landing on his face.

He moaned as Maurecia pulled him up. "Do we have to keep doing this? It's embarrassing."

"Come on, Todd, you agreed to do anything I wanted for a week."

"No, I agreed to be your boyfriend for a week, that's not the same as being a slave," the carrot top declared, throwing his arms up.

"It isn't?" Maurecia asked. "The way my big brother acts toward his girlfriend, I assumed that's how it worked."

"Well it's…" he began, then stopped short. He scratched his head. "Is it? I've never had a girlfriend before."

"Maybe I should have researched this more," Maurecia admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

* * *

Principle Kidswatter was doing something he rarely did, and that was actual work. He often avoided it if he could get away with it, but when the school board transferred a new student it was impossible.

"Hmm," he said, rubbing his chin as he looked over the form. "Hey, Louis, look at this. This new student came from the same school as Three-Forty-Four South Fairview."

Louis, who had been sweeping the office, looked up at him. Usually he'd be out conducting recess, but the principal of Wayside had insisted his office be tidied, and no amount of logic could convince him to wait. "Uh, Mr. K, I keep telling you that's his address. His name's Todd."

"Ah!" the principal yelled, jumping out of his chair. Quickly he backed up against the wall, a look of terror on his face. He pointed an accusing finger at the blue-haired groundskeeper. "How'd you find out his codename? Are you an enemy agent? Oh, you're up to something, and don't think I won't find out!"

Louis blinked, completely frozen in confusion. He considered asking his employer what he was talking about, but decided against it. Even by Wayside standards Kidswatter's mind was something so twisted no one dared to explore it.

"Now then," the principal continued, acting as if his random outburst had never happened, "it says she comes from the exact same school that Three-Forty-Four comes from. She starts school here tomorrow. I bet he'll be surprised."

For once, the Kidswatter was right, but not in the way he expected.

* * *

"You know, once you get past the constant falling, it's actually kind of fun," Todd admitted as he skated along. Although shaky and clumsy, he was certainly skating better than he was at the beginning of recess. Maurecia skated beside him, still ready to catch him if he fell.

"See, I told you you'd like it," she said coyly.

"Yeah, I guess…whoa!" he said, losing his balance. He reached out and caught his pseudo girlfriend, but she was caught off guard and was merely pulled down. They both fell to the ground tumbling a bit.

After regaining their bearings, the pair looked at each other. In that moment, they smiled, then laughed, in spite of the situation.

"You know," Todd said, pulling himself up until he was sitting Indian style, "painful injuries aside, this week has been pretty good so far."

"Really?" Maurecia asked, getting hearts in her eyes. She clasped her hands together. "Does that mean you want to be my boyfriend for real?"

"No," Todd said curtly, "It means that maybe I overreacted to this bet. I really enjoyed today…well, when I wasn't getting hurt."

Despite getting shot down, Maurecia still swooned. "Oh Todd," she said softly. Then she pulled back her arm.

"Ah, Maurecia, wait!" he yelled, holding up his arms, hoping to stop the affectionate violence he knew was coming. Surprisingly, it did. Seeing that he was safe from harm, he continued. "Can't you show your affection some other way? Why do you punch me to show affection?"

The purple-haired girl opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when she realized she didn't have an answer. She thought for moment before speaking. "Well, I have so many brothers…I'm the only girl in my family. They all like to fight, they have all these wrestling matches in our living room. It's all friendly, no one gets hurt. I guess I became tough to fit in with my brothers. It's just…a part of me, you know?" she explained slowly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Todd blinked, trying to think of how to respond. He hadn't expected such a complicated answer from the deceptively simple girl. "Oh, well, have you ever tried a hug?"

"No…I guess I could try it," the purple haired girl reasoned. At that moment, she snaked her arms around her crush's chest and pulled him into her, with the carrot-top returning the hug around her waist.

At that moment Maurecia felt strange. It was like the feeling she got whenever she was around Todd, but this time it was magnified at least three times. Being in her love's arms, and holding him in return, felt good, better than any punch could have. She could get used to this.

"Uh…Maurecia?" Todd asked weakly.

"Yes, Todd?" she asked dreamily.

"Too tight…too…tight…" he said weakly. Indeed, Maurecia was squeezing him so tight he was having trouble breathing, his face turning blue.

"Oh, sorry Todd!" Maurecia said, releasing him. Instantly he inhaled a deep breath of air.

Unfortunately, before he could rest too much the bell signaling the end of recess rang. A half a second later his arm was in his temporary partner's vice grip. "Come on, Todd, we have to get to the thirtieth story!"

Todd groaned as he prepared to be dragged up another thirty stories for the second time that day.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent in class. Then Todd was dragged down the thirty stories and onto a bus, which drove them home.

That left the pair a few minutes to talk, but only a few.

"Man, what a day," Todd said, nursing the arm that Maurecia had been tugging on all day.

"It was great! And just think, we still have three more days of this!" Maurecia said, pumping her fists in the air.

Todd's eyes widened. He was relieved when he saw that the bus had reached his house.

"Well, this is my stop," he said, gathering his book bag.

"Have fun at home, Todd," Maurecia said, waving him off.

The carrot-top got off the bus and began walking away, his head held high. After it sped off, he slumped his shoulders and slowed his pace. "Have fun. Yeah right."


	5. Wensday, Part I

A/N: Yes, I'm back!

I promised this chapter a month ago, but…it was a nightmare to write. I had to rewatch the series, to get everyone down again, and I think I redid some scenes five times because I was unhappy with them. Still, I hope this was worth the wait.

Disclaimer: Wayside copyright Louis Sachar, Nickelodeon, and Teletoon. I don't own it.

_There is no devil so bad as a she devil_. – English proverb.

* * *

Wednesday rolled around and Todd walked off the bus, seeing his Maurecia standing in front of the school, waving to him happily. The carrot-top sighed, walking over to her. It felt like it had been two years since this ridiculous bet had begun instead of two days.

"Hey Todd," Maurecia said flirtatiously. He winced, expecting a punch, but the girl surprised him. She instead snaked her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. The carrot-top blushed, unsure on how to react to this unexpected, though not entirely unwelcome, show of affection. Finally getting his bearings together, he lifted his arms up and returned the hug, enjoying one of the few gentle interactions he had had with the girl since the day they met.

"What's all this about?" he asked, nearly stuttering on the first syllable as the pair broke apart.

The girl giggled coyly. "I think you're right. Hugging is much better than punching." She finished the statement with a few flirtatious flutters of her eyelashes. It seemed almost surreal to see her acting this feminine.

"Come on, let's get to class," she said excitedly, grabbing his arm. She began her mad dash to the top before Todd managed to get out his protests.

"No, no, wait wait..."

To his amazement, she stopped, but not before she had skated forward enough to cause her companion to be pulled off balance, landing face-first on the concrete ground. He groaned as he got to his feet, but was able to continue with his original point.

"Why do we have to race up the stairs every day? I mean, remember what you learned that time Kidswatter banned wheels?"

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I still don't like to go fast," she said.

"But still, can't we just walk up to the thirtieth floor? You know, take some time to enjoy ourselves? We still have plenty of time before the bell rings."

In her head, Maurecia was having some trouble deciding. On one hand, she still lived for speed. Even with the no-wheels incident having taught her to slow down every once in a while, she was still an adrenaline junkie at heart, and still raced up and down thirty flights every morning, not on the goal of being first anymore, but just to do it fast. On the other hand, Todd had been right about hugging, a much better alternative than punching. Maybe just this once...

"Can we still hold hands?" she asked.

Todd gave a sigh. "Yes," he said, trying to hide his annoyance. If it showed, Maurecia gave no sign she noticed.

"Great," she said. She began rolling along, slowly this time, allowing her companion to walk leisurely beside her.

* * *

"_This is too perfect!_" Maurecia thought. "_He didn't even say a word to me the entire climb up! We just gazed at each other lovingly! He didn't take his eyes off of me, even for a second! I bet he was thinking about how pretty I look! Oh, this is just too perfect!_"

"_How the heck does she climb up those steps with rollerblades on?_" Todd thought. "_I mean, I just saw her climb up thirty flights of stairs, slowly, on wheels! How does she not lose her balance? She has to be the most coordinated girl in existence! In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her out of those things. Does she even own a pair of shoes?_"

The pair took a seat at the double desk they were sharing as Maurecia undid her ponytail as always. Thanks to them taking the slow way up, the bell had just rung, and class was already beginning.

"Students, today we're going to be having a new student joining us today," Mrs. Jewels informed. This caused some excited murmurs among the classroom. "In fact, according to this, she comes from the same school you did, Todd."

The boy perked up at this. "Really? Who is it?"

The pink haired teacher looked down at her attendance sheet. "Ashley Cherrystone."

At the mention of that name, Todd's eyes widened, his irises shrinking. He rose to his feet. "Ashley? Ashley Cherrystone? She's coming here? Now? Today?"

Mrs. Jewels blinked, stunned at the reaction the mention. "Um...yes?"

"...Then I'm out of here!" the boy yelled, darting out of the room at a speed that would have made Maurecia jealous if she hadn't been too confused to comprehend anything.

For a moment, the entire class stared in befuddlement at the scene that had just taken place. After a few seconds of silence, Mrs. Jewels spoke. "I had his reaction pictured...differently," she stated, speaking for the entire class.

Before anyone else could comment, the intercom came to life, with Kidswatter's voice rang through. "Attention students, we have a bright, brand new face joining us here at Wayside today. Her name is Ashley Cherrystone, and I want you to all give her a great big Wayside welcome."

There was silence. Then Kidswatter's voice came through again. "Well, that was worth it. I really don't think we need another of those little whatchamacallits running around, but having her father agree to fund the next iteration of Kidswatter TV, and help me rebuild the gondola canal on the fourteenth floor. And no one will be the wiser!"

"Uh, Mr. K? The intercom's still on."

"Ah! It's a trap! Quick, alert Corneal Montgomery at once! We must prepare for an invasion!"

The intercom went dead, sparing the school from any more of the insane rant, but the damage had already been done. There was another moment of silence before Dana finally spoke.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she said, with no one disagreeing with her.

"Well, in any case, let's try to give this new girl a chance to introduce herself before we jump to conclusions," Mrs. Jewels instructed, for once having the right idea.

At that moment the door to the thirtieth floor swung open and said new student walked in.

The first thing anyone noticed was that she was pretty, and unlike many of the kids in Mrs. Jewels class she seemed to put more effort into such things. She had blonde hair that flowed down to her mid back, with pink hair clips keeping it out of her eyes, which were a shade of blue many romantics would probably exaggerate. Her dress was surprisingly simple, a white shirt with frills on the end of the sleeves, which ended at the wrists, with a pink skirt completing the ensemble. Vaguely, Maurecia was reminded of the outfit she had worn in the story of Mrs. Gorf, as Dana had told it, though the accuracy of that story was something Todd had quite rightly questioned. The girl wore a pair of white shoes with raised heels, the final piece of her outfit. She seemed like any other girl anyone had ever encountered.

"Is this Mrs. Jewels's class?" she asked innocently enough.

Mrs. Jewels managed to bring herself to speak well enough to give a cordial greeting. "Why yes, I'm Mrs. Jewels. You must be Ashley. Class, say hello to our new student."

The children gave a less than enthusiastic hello, obviously unable to hide the bad feeling they were getting from Todd's rather fearful reaction. The girl, however, didn't seem to notice, as she was scanning the classroom for a familiar face. "Where's Todd?"

"Your classmate from your old school? He ran out of the room screaming the moment he heard you were coming," the pink-haired teacher said, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

"Aw, poor Todd. He gets nervous around me, you see, because I'm so beautiful..."

It was Dana who saw where this was going first, as she dared a nervous glance at Maurecia, who figured it out seconds later. The bespectacled girl moaned, placing her head in her hands while praying her friend would be mature about this.

Unfortunately, Myron, who seemed to have a sixth sense in order to determine when the worst possible time to say anything was, spoke. "Why would he be nervous about you being pretty?"

"Because, silly, I'm his girlfriend."

The entire class's eyes widened. Even Shari lifted her head up, bloodshot eyes staring in anticipating shock. The only one not worried was Myron, who was not even trying to contain his laughter.

Dana quickly turned to her friend. "Maurecia, please don't do anything..."

The double desk was empty.

"...rash," she finished wearily, turning to the front of the class, where Maurecia already was.

"You can't be Todd's girlfriend!" the purple hair girl said angrily. Mrs. Jewels's mind was racing, trying to figure out the quickest way to end what could be an ugly confrontation. Unfortunately, the scene played out faster than she could think.

"Oh?" Ashley said, her expression turning from coy to disdain. "And why not?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Because I'm his girlfriend!" she declared, pointing at her chest.

The blonde arched an eyebrow. "You? I'm not seeing it."

Myron snorted with laughter. Dana punched him on the arm in an effort to quiet him, but she might as well have been flicking rice to stop an oncoming train.

"Oh yeah? Well, we happen to be dating right now!" Maurecia declared, mimicking her newfound rival's stance.

Rather than get upset, Ashley just arched an eyebrow. "What, did he lose a bet?"

"Actually, ye-" Myron began, but was cut off by another punch, this time delivered by Jenny, who actually had the muscle to keep him silent.

"Ha, knew it. Can't imagine what he'd see in you."

The class grimaced. Even Myron seemed to be unable to laugh at such a comment. Maurecia looked ready to punch her in the face. She probably would have, had Mrs. Jewels not interrupted. "Um, girls, maybe we should sit down and begin the lesson."

Ashley waved her hand dismissively. "Sorry, but I'm not sticking around, I have to go find my Todd."

"You mean _my_ Todd!" Maurecia said angrily. By now, Dana and Jenny had stood, ready to hold back their friend if she got violent.

"Now Ashley, I don't just let students wander the school during class hours. Except for when Todd was crowned king. And the time Todd and Maurecia were looking for Fluffy. And when Dana and Myron were helping Todd and the Principal out of that elevator. And when Dana toured the school on Jenny's bike. And the thing with the squirrels." Mrs. Jewels paused for a moment. "Wow, I really don't enforce truancy very well."

"In that case, I think I'll go find Todd," Ashley commented snidely. With that she strolled casually out of the room before anyone could stop her.

Maurecia seethed for a moment before turning to Dana, Jenny, and Myron, who at this point had all come up to the front of the classroom. "We've got to find Todd before she does!"

"Something tells me that would be a good idea," Dana agreed, and the four friends followed their newfound rival out.

There was a moment of silence as the entire class stared wide eyed at the front of the classroom, the absurdity of the last few minutes sinking in. Finally, Mrs. Jewels addressed the class. "Alright, everyone remaining, today we're going to learn about how Santa's time as an outlaw helped prepare him for the Martian invasion."

The entire class returned to work, but Stephen voiced one final thought.

"Wait, how Todd get downstairs without running into Ashley?"

* * *

In truth, Todd was lucky enough to see Ashley coming and had ducked behind a nearby cow until she had passed. After briefly pondering how his life had become so strange that hiding behind a cow in a public school was not all that unusual, he continued sprinting downstairs, putting as much distance between himself and the thirtieth floor as possible.

"Where to hide, where to hide!" he yelled. "The cafeteria? No, Miss Mush can't keep a secret! The library? No, she'll look there first. I got it! Louis's office! He'll keep me safe!" With that he doubled his pace, trying to put as much distance between himself and the thirtieth floor as possible.

At that moment, he was just reaching the fifteenth floor, and because of that he ended up running into the very cafeteria worker he had mentioned moments earlier.

"Ah, Todd!" Miss Mush greeted. "You come early today, eh? Have you and pony-tail headed girl made another bet?"

"Not exactly," the carrot-top explained, momentarily stopping. There was no way to continue on outside of rudeness. "I'm just trying to distance myself from Mrs. Jewels's class as much as possible."

"Why? I hear there's a new child joining you today."

"That's kind of it," Todd said, glancing back upstairs nervously, thinking of how to end this conversation as soon as possible. "I knew her from my old school, and believe me, she's the kind of person to avoid."

Miss Mush was a bit set off by this statement. Todd was known as generally friendly around Wayside, while he might become exasperated by the antics that frequently abounded the building he generally had little bad to say about anyone in it. The fact that Todd wanted to avoid this girl was more than enough reason to be wary. "What? What's wrong with her?"

"Believe me, you'll pick it up just by talking to her," Todd said, getting ready to start going again. "Just don't fall for her sweet talk!"

With that he was gone again, leaving a very perplexed cafeteria worker behind.

* * *

Todd's friends were beginning to wonder where to look for him. After checking the library and the gym, neither of which had yielded any results, they looked in the cafeteria, where they got a lead in Miss Mush. They were currently walking down the steps that led to the ground floor.

"Now what?" Myron whined, sitting on a nearby bench. "We've been searching forever and haven't found anything! I'm exhausted.

"It's been fifteen minutes," Jenny uttered dryly.

"And we can't give up now!" Maurecia exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "What if Ashley finds him?"

"Wait, that's it!" Dana exclaimed. "Todd's trying to hide from Ashley, who's never been to Wayside before, right?"

"Yeah..." Maurecia asked, not seeing her friend's point.

"So, every school has a gym and things like that, Ashley would know to check there. No, Todd would go somewhere unique to Wayside, somewhere she wouldn't know about!"

Jenny snapped her fingers, understanding what the bespectacled girl meant. "Louis! She wouldn't think the cleaning staff to be cool with letting kids hide there. Brilliant Sister D!"

"Exactly, and lucky for us, his office is right here!" she said, motioning to a door marked with the groundskeepers' name.

"Hmm, convenient," Maurecia noted, skating toward the door.

"Aw, but I'm so tired!" Myron whined, "I don't think I can walk all the way- agh!"

The last sound was due to Jenny grabbing his collar and roughly pulling the boy off the bench and dragging him to the door.

Maurecia pulled the door open, and was immediately greeted by a terrified "Aah!"

The purple haired girl jumped, but then registered the voice. "Todd?" she asked cautiously.

"Shut the door, shut the door!" the boy in question begged. The group complied, but not until they were all inside.

"We hoped you'd be here," Maurecia explained, skating over to where Todd was crouching behind a shelf of cleaning supplies.

"I take it you met Ashley?" he asked, in a tone that made it clear he already knew the answer.

"We did," the girl answered flatly. "Todd, was she the 'bad experiences' you mentioned yesterday?"

"Good guess," the carrot top answered, a little more rudely than he intended.

If she was offended, his temporary girlfriend gave no sign of it. She merely put her hand on his shoulder. "I told you yesterday...I'm willing to listen."

Todd looked at the purple haired girl for a moment, then shot a look back at his other three friends. He took a deep breath. They'd eventually find out now.

"Back at my old school, she was the most popular girl in school, and she had a huge crush on me. Why, I don't know. I guess she's just crazy. And not crazy in the fun way like this school, I mean disturbing crazy. She wanted to be my girlfriend, and when she first offered, I really didn't know if I wanted to. I told her I'd think about it."

"Why'd you need to think about it?" Myron asked.

Todd and the girls gave Myron a deadpanned look that he totally failed to understand. "What?"

"Were you even paying attention back in that classroom?" Jenny snapped. "That girl was totally trashing Sister Mo."

"And she's so...her insults are in a tone that makes them even worse. She's so...so..." Maurecia said through gritted teeth, clenching her fists in anger.

"Passive-aggressive?" Dana offered.

"That sounds about right," Maurecia agreed. "So how did she react to you saying you think about it?"

"She didn't take being told no very well. Well I didn't really tell her no, but I might as well I have. I mean, she totally flipped out. She asked me why I 'needed to think about it'. Then she swore that I'd be a boyfriend, no matter what it took."

By this point, his friends were looking nervous. Dana removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And let me guess, she ended up following up on that little threat?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," he groaned, once again burying his head into his body. "First, she tried bribing the teachers into making me flunk. Her parents are filthy rich, see, so she had plenty of cash to throw around. Lucky for me, a good deal the teachers couldn't be bought off. They were more honest than she anticipated. Unfortunately, she still managed to get the whole mess swept under the rug. I guess some people on the school board weren't so honest. Either that or she just made it sound more harmless than it really was. Then, she tried spreading rumors about me all around campus. Unfortunately, this one worked a lot better. While people still doubted them, everyone was still suspicious enough to start ignoring me. And things only got worse with the kindergartner incident."

"You mean the thing that you told us made you transfer here?" Myron asked, for one seemingly aware of what was going on.

"Yeah, I wasn't lying about that," the carrot top answered. "I just never told you guys why, exactly, it got so bad. Even though it was an accident, Ashley was all over it. She starts telling everybody I deliberately took those toys and broke them just for a laugh. Soon it was all over the whole school! Nobody wanted to hang around me. She told me she could make it all go away, that she could say she had simply misunderstood, and tell everyone what really happened, if I'd just agree to be her boyfriend. Instead, I asked my parents to transfer me here. There was no way I was going to give the satisfaction of winning."

"Gonna have to give ya respect for that Todd," Jenny approved, giving a thumbs-up.

Despite the circumstances, Todd couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I didn't expect her to follow me all the way here. I figured not even she was that crazy. Guess I was wrong."

"Oh, Todd," a new voice said, startling the circle of friends. The hairs on the back Todd's neck stood up and his eyes widened in horror. His head turned slowly, slower than his friend's, who are already looking at the room's doorway, where horrifying figure stood.

Ashley batted her eyes. "Love makes us do crazy things."


End file.
